Two adventure competitions were organized for this year’s Buglasan celebration: the Bangga sa Balinsasayao, the Buglasan Canoe & Kayak Competition; and the Las Aventura de Negros, the Buglasan Adventure Race.
The Bangga sa Balinsasayao canoe and kayak competition was held in Lake Kabalin-an on Oct. 22. Thirty-six local paddlers joined the competition participating in nine team and individual games.
Now in its sixth year, the Buglasan Canoe & Kayak Competition has evolved into a combination of test of speed, endurance, paddling skills, as well as water and boat rescue techniques.
The Las Aventura de Negros adventure race held Oct. 23 had a total distance of 140.25 kilometers: 102 kilometers on the mountain bike, 18 kilometers foot course on trails, rivers and canyons, 20 kilometers of public commute, a short waterfall rappel, and a 250-meter swim with one hand holding a matchstick.
The matchstick, of course, must not get wet. It had to be lit up to get the clues to the next checkpoint. There were teams that ended up swimming one kilometer since their matches failed to ignite several times.
All teams at one point or another got lost looking for the checkpoints, 17 of them in total, so technically, only God, and maybe their bikes’ odometers, knows how long this year’s race really was.
Twelve teams joined, and all but one managed to finish. Each team had three members.
Eunel “Toto” Matula, a veteran adventure racer who has participated in several Carera Habagat multi- day adventure races, designed this year’s course to be completed in 14 hours. All the finishers, however, managed to cross the line well below the 12th hour.
The race started at 3 in the morning, the last team clocked in at 2:53 in the afternoon. Quite a revelation to the organizers but in a way, a bit expected.
Last year’s race was designed for eight hours, and almost everyone finished it in six. The people of Negros Oriental are getting stronger! We may end up doing a full day adventure competition next year.
Many thanks to the Provincial government, Gov. Roel Degamo, Mariant Escano-Villegas, and the Provincial Tourism Council for consistently supporting events like these that allow us to test and calibrate the physical and mental strength and endurance of our people and our outdoor athletes.
This year’s race was also sponsored by Habagat Outdoor Equipment, Thirdworld Outdoor Footwear. The race organization was composed of members of the Cuernos de Negros Mountaineers Club Inc and the Black Mountain Outdoor Guides Group.
Twenty thousand worth of prizes were awarded during the Buglasan Kayak & Canoe Competition. The Las Aventura de Negros champion cash prize of P15,000 and a trophy was carted away by Team Laspag with team members Jonathan Bation, Anthony Allanic and Erwin Olasiman. Second place went to the veterans Team Trailblazers, brother John and Paul Bael and son John Paul Bael. They received P10,000 in cash and a trophy. Third place was bagged by Team Sikad Sibulan Jervane Bartoces, Flor Reganian, and Mark Saycon. They got P5,000 in cash and a trophy.
With the performance of this year’s racers, next year’s Buglasan adventure events will definitely be more exciting and challenging race. (Antonio Mario Wenceslao)
